Each Annex I Party must submit an annual inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions and removals to the
secretariat, calculated using standard guidelines based on IPCC methodologies. The annual inventory will
also include other information that must be submitted annually, for example, on total annual transactions
(for the previous year) in AAUs, CERs, ERUs and RMUs and on action taken to minimize adverse impacts on
developing countries. As they will be more detailed, these annual inventories will supersede those
currently required under the Convention.

Expert review teams will check annual inventories, to make sure they are complete, accurate and conform to
the guidelines. The annual inventory review will generally be conducted as a desk or centralized review.
However, each Annex I Party will be subject to at least one in-country visit during the commitment period.
If any problems are found, the expert review team may recommend adjusting the data to make sure that
emissions during any year of the commitment period are not underestimated. If there is disagreement between
a Party and the expert review team about the adjustment that should be made, the Compliance Committee will
intervene. Aside from recommending data adjustments, the expert review team has the mandate to raise any
apparent implementation problems with the Compliance Committee. Once the compliance procedures have been
finalized, the compilation and accounting database will be updated with a record of the Party’s
emissions for that year.

Annex I Parties must also submit regular full national communications on the action they are taking to
implement the Protocol. These will be merged with national communications submitted under the Convention.
Although no fixed timetable has been set yet, they will probably be required every three to five years.
Each national communication submitted under the Protocol will be subject to an in-depth review by an expert
review team performed as either an in-country visit or a centralized review. The expert review team will
prepare a report on its review, including any identified potential implementation problems.

Expert review teams for both annual inventories and national communications will be coordinated by the
secretariat. Consisting of some four to twelve people, they will be composed of experts selected from a
roster of individuals nominated by Parties, and will be led by two lead reviewers, one each from an Annex I
and a non-Annex I Party. Expert reviewers will have to undergo training, to ensure that they possess the
necessary competence to carry out reviews.